Two Days in Acapulco Ryan Crutchfield

Home , Caranx, Crevalle jack, Pacific crevalle jack

Winter 2018 American Currents 20

TWO DAYS IN ACAPULCO

Ryan Crutchfield FishMap.org It was early morning when our plane cleared the haze of store we stopped at had whole squid by the package, so we Mexico City for the short jump to Acapulco where a boat grabbed one and hurried to the boat. I had noticed dur- was waiting for us at the docks. Benjamin (Ben) Cantrell ing our drive groups of soldiers from the army and navy and I had just spent a week with a goodeid study group standing every few hundred feet dressed in full battle gear traveling to obscure locales in Morelos, Michoacán, and with automatic weapons (Figure 1). As we passed an ar- Jalisco. Guided by Dr. John Lyons and Dr. Norman Mer- mored personnel carrier I said, “Hey Roberto, what is up cado, and sponsored by the North American Goodeid with all the soldiers?” Roberto waved his hands towards a Working Group, we had sought out native fish species group of soldiers and said, “It is nothing, my friend, it is from locations including mountain lakes at over 10,000 just for show so that the tourists feel safe.” I nodded, but I feet elevation and the shores of Lake Chapala. While the had my doubts. rest of the group spent time netting and electroshocking, We finally reached the Señora Cotorrona (Figure 2), Ben and I spent our time using tiny hooks to catch tiny where Captain Mike and first mate Miguel were waiting to fish. We had decided earlier on that we would round the cast off. We made plans to meet Roberto back at the shore a trip out with a few days of saltwater fishing and a shot at few hours after the charter got back so that we could spend some new species. some time fishing around the docks and rocks as well. As Roberto met us at the airport with an air-conditioned we threw our gear and luggage onto the boat and Miguel van, a pot of coffee, and a cooler full of beer. Another spe- cast us off, Roberto yelled towards the captain, “Just like cies angler, George, whom Roberto referred to lovingly as Señor Jorge!” while pointing at us. Captain Mike gave us Señor Jorge, had hooked us up with Roberto. Roberto en- a thumbs up and said “Like Señor Jorge” and we were off. tertained us with stories and legends of Acapulco on the As we headed out towards the far shore of the bay the cap- way into the city, occasionally interrupting himself to say tain pointed out schools of skipjacks crashing across the things like “This is the Diamond Zone.Zona de Diaman- surface. tes!” or “At first I could not find you when you got off the It turned out that they already had squid on board so plane! I was expecting you to be much older and I did not we added ours to the pile and started fishing off the rocky recognize you.” I particularly enjoyed the way he referred shores of the Las Playas Peninsula. I got the first fish on to Ben as Ben-hay-meen. As we traveled down the main artery of Acapulco, the Avenida Costera Miguel Alemán, I was very impressed with the cleanliness and modernity of the city. It was one of the most beautiful locations we had seen on our trip. Our primary mission was to procure some bait and lunch before we hit the water, and the first grocery store we stopped at did not have anything usable as bait, but we did get a couple of fantastic sandwiches. The second grocery

Photos by the author unless otherwise indicated. Ryan Crutchfield is an angler, explorer, archaeologist, and soft- ware developer living in the Tampa Bay area. He is an avid species hunter and has caught 240 species of fishes to date with hook and line. He founded and developed FishMap.org in 2013 to help anglers, aquarium hobbyists, scientific researchers, and anyone with a passion for fishes to learn about the species near them and to visually explore their ranges. Figure 1. Armed soldiers in Acapulco. 21 American Currents Vol. 43, No. 1

Figure 5. Longnose Puffer Sphoeroides( lobatus). (Photo by Ben Cantrell)

Figure 2. The Señora Cotorrona.

Figure 6. Longspine Porcupinefish Diodon( holocanthus). (Photo by Ben Cantrell)

board, landing an Acapulco Damselfish Stegastes( aca- pulcoensis), Beaubrummel (Stegastes flavilatus) (Figure 3), and both male and female Chameleon Wrasse (Ha- lichoeres dispilus) (Figure 4) in short order. Ben was not far behind and pulled in his own damselfish as well as Longnose Puffer Sphoeroides( lobatus) (Figure 5) and an amazing Longspine Porcupinefish Diodon( holocanthus) Figure 3. Beaubrummel (Stegastes flavilatus). (Figure 6). We cast towards the rocky shore and watched young men climb and dive from the cliffs, then swim out to the tour boats for tips. After our 20th or so damselfish we changed locations towards deeper water and fished near a buoy. This buoy and every buoy we fished around during the two days were stacked with Finescale Triggerfish Bal( - istes polylepis) (Figure 7), which congregated around the anchor chains. It was the only thing near them, but they were plentiful. They were fun to catch and the crew was keeping them for dinner, but we had to move on because catching triggerfish after triggerfish is not good for spe- Figure 4. Male Chameleon Wrasse (Halichoeres dispilus). cies hunting. As we drifted over the deeper water towards Winter 2018 American Currents 22 some of the moored sailboats Ben pulled in probably the the word “keychain.” Once, as I was washing my hands most interesting fish of the whole trip, a Bullseye Jawfish in the water off the side of the boat Miguel stopped me (Opistognathus scops) (Figure 8). I managed to catch a and said, “No.” He then pointed to an onboard water Sauro Lizardfish Synodus( lacertinus) in roughly the same source I should use instead. I nodded while looking at location. As the day ran on we tried different spots with the cooler full of fish, wondering what he was worried varied results including under the sailboats for dozens about in the water. of Pacific Red Snapper Lutjanus( peru) as well as catch- As our first day on the boat wound down and we ar- ing Spotted Grouper (Epinephelus analogus) (Figure 9), rived back at the docks, we were eager to find a spot along Banded Wrasse (Halichoeres notospilus), Panama Graysby the shore to continue fishing until Roberto could pick us (Cephalopholis panamensis), Orangeside Triggerfish Suf( - up. We were told that we could not fish around the boats flamen verres) (Figure 10), and Spottail Grunt (Haemulon so we had the crew help negotiate with the owner of one maculicauda) out over the rocks. of the docks. He had a small shop at the front of the dock Our Spanish was practically non-existent and their and, for the price of a round of cold beers for everybody English was just as bad, so communicating was an inter- present, we were allowed onto the dock to fish. esting challenge. We learned all the different things they We immediately noticed dozens of Guineafowl Puff- called cabrilla and it was amusing watching Ben trying ers (Arothron meleagris) cruising the waters but no to explain the English name “jawfish”. Manuel started matter what we did we could not get them interested in looking up words on his phone at some point for trans- anything we offered. I have seen them caught on hook lation, but this rarely helped. At one point he showed us and line before, but much time was wasted this day in

Figure 7. Finescale Triggerfish Balistes( polylepis). (Photo by Ben Cantrell) Figure 9. Spotted Grouper (Epinephelus analogus).

Figure 8. Bullseye Jawfish Opistognathus( scops). (Photo by Figure 10. Orangeside Triggerfish Sufflamen( verres). (Photo Ben Cantrell) by Ben Cantrell) 23 American Currents Vol. 43, No. 1

Figure 11. Cortez Rainbow Wrasse (Thalassoma lucasanum). (Photo by Ben Cantrell) trying to accomplish this task. We both caught beautiful Cortez Rainbow Wrasse (Thalassoma lucasanum) (Figure 11), and I finally got my Longnose Puffer after Ben had caught about a dozen on the boat. I also foul- hooked a species of trumpet fish, but didn’t really get a good picture or identification. Overall, the fishing from the dock wasn’t that great, especially with all the time wasted on the puffers. Roberto picked us up and we headed to our hotel after learning that tomorrow we would be heading to Punta Bruja—Witches Point. On the way back to the hotel we had Roberto stop Figures 12 and 13. Fish Market on the Acapulco Beach. (Pho- and let us look at the fish market on the beach (Figures tos by Ben Cantrell) 12 and 13). They had many different species and it was room, as I drifted off to sleep, a loud noise jerked me interesting seeing them sitting on a table off the beach awake. “Was that a gunshot?” I asked Ben. “Nope,” he with no ice or refrigeration nearby. There were many replied and I mostly believed him. species on the tables that we had not caught yet. The next morning on our way back to the boat Ro- We had picked our hotel specifically because of the berto stopped at El Zorrito, a famous local restaurant rocks behind it, where George had fished and had good open 24 hours. Hung-over patrons from the night be- luck. As soon as we checked in we scrambled down to fore crowded around the tables as Roberto walked be- the rocks and started fishing. It was a difficult area hind the counter and helped us procure take-away ta- to fish and in the end, as the sunlight was fading and cos for lunch. Once onboard Captain Mike headed out the tide started to come in, we were pushed back into towards Punta Bruja, where we began trolling for some fishing the tidal cracks as the water edged higher. We bigger species. As the sun began to peak over the hills, both managed to pull tiny Mexican Night Sergeant the first fish struck. Ben grabbed the line and, after a (Abudefduf declivifrons) (Figure 14) and Tinsel Squir- solid battle, landed a stunning Pacific Sierra Mackerel relfish (Sargocentron suborbitale) out of the surging (Scomberomorus sierra) (Figure 15). Shortly after that, tide. I also managed to get a Panamic Sergeant Major I pulled in a Black Skipjack (Euthynnus lineatus) and (Abudefduf troschelii). then Ben landed a Striped Bonito (Sarda orientalis). I As the sun was setting we returned to our room for a lost my own Pacific Sierra Mackerel at the boat, but I quick shower and then went out to look for dinner. We was able to pull in a nice Pacific Crevalle Jack (Caranx found a nice taco place on the main avenue and, after caninus) (Figure 16). At one point, while Manuel was having to pull one of the kitchen staff out of the back attempting to take the hook out of one of the fish, the to explain something to us in English, we ordered our boat rocked and the fish jumped in just the right way food, which was a perfect end to the day. Back in the that a treble hook went deep into his hand. I handed Winter 2018 American Currents 24

Figure 14. Mexican Night Sergeant (Abudefduf declivifrons). Figure 16. Pacific Crevalle Jack Caranx( caninus) with Punta Bruja in the background. (Photo by Ben Cantrell)

Figure 15. Ben with his Pacific Sierra Mackerel Scomb( - Figure 17. Captain Mike, Ryan Crutchfield, Ben Cantrell, eromorus sierra). Manuel. my pliers to Ben and watched as he counted to three er material he was interested in. Between us both we and yanked the hook out. Manuel never even flinched; caught 23 different species, and we saw many more in he just went back to work. We continued trolling for the water and in the fish market. We thanked Roberto a while, but the bite died down as the sun got higher after he dropped us off at the airport, and we flew back in the sky, so we switched back to bottom fishing, this to Mexico City on our way back home. time off the deeper rocks of Punta Bruja. We were in Mexico in middle to late February of I didn’t end up catching anything new for the rest 2017. About a month beforehand, Joaquín “El Chapo” of the day and we managed to mostly catch various Guzmán had been extradited to the United States. I damselfish, snapper, and triggerfish. Ben, as usual, did don’t fully understand the dynamics of Mexico, but manage to get more new species for the day including it has been suggested to me the power vacuum left in a Rivulated Mutton Hamlet (Alphestes multiguttatus) his wake has caused the violence there to reach all- and a Pacific Mutton Hamlet (Alphestes immaculatus). time record levels. Planned fishing trips to Los Cabos Much of the day was spent with Captain Mike joking- have been shelved because our local contacts on the ly chastising us for catching fish too small for him to ground have told us it is too dangerous. I later learned keep, yelling “Más grande!” whenever we pulled up a that Acapulco has been the murder capital of Mexico tiny snapper. for five years straight and the government keeps that Roberto picked us up at the end of the day and we heavy military presence we saw in the tourist areas to thanked the crew (Figure 17). I ended up giving them keep the chaos at bay. I hope the situation in Mexico my rubber boots, which I did not feel like packing back improves soon because it was a great place to visit and home and both Ben and I gave Manuel tackle and lead- there are many more fish to be caught.